Calls from indigenous national and linguistic minorities fall on deaf ears in the European Union

The European Parliament held a debate today to mark the 30th anniversary of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities. It is regrettable that the adoption of the EP resolution on the subject could not be put on the agenda due to the opposition of Hungarian left-wing MEPs. MEP Kinga Gál, Chair of the Fidesz delegation in the European Parliament, said that “Millions of EU citizens are treated as second-class citizens in many EU countries. The European Commission, the champion of anti-discrimination, refuses to even address the protection of these communities. They are the victims of double standards”. In the debate, Fidesz MEP Andrea Bocskor stressed that “it is important that the rights of indigenous national and linguistic minorities exist not only on paper but also in reality. However, European decision-makers, applying double standards, only look at the problems of certain minorities under a magnifying glass while turning a blind eye to violations affecting traditional national minorities.” 

MEP Kinga Gál reminded that “30 years ago we hoped that the UN resolution would also promote the protection of minorities in Europe.” The MEP has been fighting for the protection of indigenous national and linguistic minorities in the European Parliament since 2004. “As co-chair Intergroup for Traditional Minorities, I have been confronted ever since with the fact that millions of EU citizens, including hundreds of thousands of Hungarians, are treated as second-class citizens in many EU member states. Despite discrimination, a multitude of violations, and restrictions on the use of their mother tongue or the lack thereof, the European Commission has no intention of protecting the rights of these minorities. Thus, they are victims of double standards, and their demands fall on deaf ears,” said the MEP. “Just think of the two European citizens’ initiatives for the protection of minorities, supported by millions of people, that the Commission swept off the table with a wave of its hand. And the European Court of Justice has confirmed this decision in a judgment. Yet a comprehensive framework for the protection of Europe’s indigenous national and linguistic minorities is badly needed. It is regrettable that the EP did not even want to take a decision on such a serious issue. The European institutions cannot step beyond their own shadow,” concluded MEP Kinga Gál.

The chair of the delegation pointed out that the Hungarian left always lets down Hungarians living beyond the border: “Until now they have not stood up for traditional national and linguistic minorities. Even now, because of their dissenting votes, the European Parliament could not pass a resolution on minority protection.”

MEP Andrea Bocskor stressed that “the anniversary of the Declaration is a good opportunity to pay even more attention to the Hungarian community in Transcarpathia, which is going through difficult times and whose main aspiration is to guarantee their minority rights and respect the community that wants to live in peace in its homeland by adopting a law in line with the recommendations of the Venice Commission.”